Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Al-Buraimi

For one person, living costs are similar in Chiang Mai and in Al-Buraimi: $938 and $916 a month, rent and utilities included.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Al-Buraimi
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Al-Buraimi Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Al-Buraimi

🇴🇲 Oman

$916

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Al-Buraimi

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Chiang Mai and in Al-Buraimi actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $938 in Chiang Mai versus $916 in Al-Buraimi.

Chiang Mai $938
Al-Buraimi $916

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,426 in Chiang Mai versus $1,357 in Al-Buraimi.

Chiang Mai $1,426
Al-Buraimi $1,357

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,914 in Chiang Mai versus $1,797 in Al-Buraimi.

Chiang Mai $1,914
Al-Buraimi $1,797

Living in Chiang Mai is roughly 2% more expensive than in Al-Buraimi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Chiang Mai 30% lower, Al-Buraimi 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.26 ฿75.4

$5.27 OMR 2.03

-57.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.18 ฿641

$13.14 OMR 5.06

45.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.59 ฿187

$7.82 OMR 3.01

-28.52%

Cappuccino

$1.72 ฿57.6

$5.02 OMR 1.93

-65.74%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 ฿21.54

$0.91 OMR 0.35

-29.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ฿11.18

$0.27 OMR 0.10

22.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿78.7

$12.89 OMR 4.96

-81.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 ฿130

$13.20 OMR 5.08

-70.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 ฿68.6

$2.26 OMR 0.87

-9.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 ฿46.70

$1.20 OMR 0.46

16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 ฿42.89

$1.58 OMR 0.61

-18.99%

Eggs

$2.25 ฿75.3

$2.99 OMR 1.15

-24.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.94 ฿566

$6.33 OMR 2.44

167.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.74 ฿91.6

$5.79 OMR 2.23

-52.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.36 ฿313

$9.31 OMR 3.58

0.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 ฿80.3

$2.07 OMR 0.80

15.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.01 ฿33.92

$1.83 OMR 0.70

-44.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.61 ฿53.9

$2.06 OMR 0.79

-21.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 ฿50.7

$1.32 OMR 0.51

15.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿42.90

$1.20 OMR 0.46

6.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ฿37.22

$0.98 OMR 0.38

13.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 ฿24.09

$0.91 OMR 0.35

-20.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.54

$0.70 OMR 0.27

-25.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.33 ฿145

$5.23 OMR 2.01

-17.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.73 ฿593

$15.32 OMR 5.90

15.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 ฿54.4

$5.82 OMR 2.24

-71.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 ฿95.3

$10.15 OMR 3.91

-71.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 ฿28.31

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

$38.94 OMR 14.99

38.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ฿39.18

$3.28 OMR 1.26

-64.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 ฿19.00

$1.33 OMR 0.51

-57.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.37 ฿79.2

$7.57 OMR 2.92

-68.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.32

$0.60 OMR 0.23

141.67%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$20.5K ฿684.3K

$25.2K OMR 9,711

-18.83%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.5K ฿886.1K

$22.7K OMR 8,734

16.87%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$62.3 ฿2,083

$77.5 OMR 29.84

-19.57%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$12.27 ฿410

$30.24 OMR 11.64

-59.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.97 ฿668

$70.7 OMR 27.23

-71.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.91 ฿1,267

$63.9 OMR 24.62

-40.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$6.71 ฿224

$7.67 OMR 2.95

-12.52%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$797 ฿26.6K

$260 OMR 100

206.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿495.7K

$10.5K OMR 4,036

41.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 ฿1,780

$56.8 OMR 21.86

-6.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.05 ฿837

$43.55 OMR 16.77

-42.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 ฿3,062

$90.9 OMR 35.01

0.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.5 ฿2,455

$88.7 OMR 34.13

-17.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$464 ฿15.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 ฿10.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$915 ฿30.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 ฿18.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,912 ฿63.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,438 ฿48.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

$3,620 OMR 1,394

-83.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

5.25

6.10%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Last update for Al-Buraimi: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5%

Al-Buraimi

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4%

Al-Buraimi

$262 28.7% 10.3% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7%

Al-Buraimi

$126 13.7% 15% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1%

Al-Buraimi

$178 19.5% 88.7% $84

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4%

Al-Buraimi

$221 24.2% 180% $142

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5%

Al-Buraimi

$49 * 5.3% 20.3% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5%

Al-Buraimi

$79 8.7% 54.4% $28

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Al-Buraimi pays 508% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $19.00 in Chiang Mai vs $13.00 in Al-Buraimi. Groceries flip the comparison at $238 vs $262, with Chiang Mai cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇴🇲 Al-Buraimi

🕒 Local time

11:27 11:27 AM

08:27 8:27 AM

3 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

73,670

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

OMR, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Al-Buraimi 4,490 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Al-Buraimi

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Chiang Mai vs Al-Buraimi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al-Buraimi is cheaper overall, especially in transport. The 2% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 508% lower in Al-Buraimi. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

A monthly transit pass in Al-Buraimi runs roughly 38% less than in Chiang Mai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $797 in Chiang Mai versus $260 in Al-Buraimi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $916 in Al-Buraimi versus $938 in Chiang Mai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Al-Buraimi but tight or insufficient in Chiang Mai. The gap between the two cities makes Al-Buraimi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Al-Buraimi is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Chiang Mai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Chiang Mai and Al-Buraimi are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Al-Buraimi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Chiang Mai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.